The irony of the NFL owners’ action is that *they have now hyper-politicized the anthem, for not just every black player and ally, but every potential anthem singer or Super Bowl halftime performer. That few minutes before a game will now look like a forced nationalistic display.

Yet another travesty that wouldn’t have occurred under President Hillary Clinton.

So as to not upset the Toddler in Chief and his even-more-histrionic-prone vice president*, the NFL has issued new guidelines that levies fines against teams whose players kneel during the national anthem. Have a look at the press release yourself:

So you’re basically up to date: Trump and Pence have been publicly pearl-clutchy over NFL players’ peaceful protests and the league caved.

“They’re trying to use the anthem as fake patriotism and nationalism, scaring people,” says Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors coach in the NBA. “It’s idiotic but that’s how the NFL handles its business. Players weren’t disrespecting the flag or the military but our president* decided to make it about that.

“People in high places are trying to divide us,” he added. “It’s really ironic what the NFL is doing.” (Steve Kerr is my new hero, but I digress.)

History—and allegory—repeated

ESPN senior writer Arash Markazi probably didn’t realize how prophetic “Trump widely blamed for demise of USFL” was in 2015. Trump desperately wanted to play in the rich-tycoon sandbox of NFL owners and his attempts to use USFL games to do it—like so many of his projects—failed miserably.

He tried to force a merger between the two and even took the NFL to court over monopolistic practices. Let’s pick it up with Wikipedia:

However, in a victory in name only, the USFL was awarded a judgment of just $1, which under anti-trust laws, was tripled to $3. This court decision effectively ended the USFL’s existence. The league never played the 1986 season, and by the time it folded, it had lost over US$163 million.

To MAGA cult members, Donald Trump walks on water (literally). To the rest of the evidence-based world everything he touches turns to flaming piles of dog poo. Six of his companies have filed for Chapter 11 protection, according to Snopes; he was forced to settle a Trump University class-action lawsuit for $25 million, and the “school” was ultimately dissolved; Trump Steaks, Water, Airlines and Vodka all met with similar failure.

Given the chaos in his administration, it seems plainly evident he’s trying to do to America what he’s done to so many other people, casinos, hotels and organizations prior.

Is all this nonsense fueled by a deep-seeded, vindictive insecurity or pathology? I’m not an expert in that area so I’ll only say it looks quite likely. Some say he seethed with anger and vowed to run for POTUS when then-president Barack Obama poked fun at him at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner—and we all know how that turned out.

And so. I find it remarkable that the NFL took this action given the history of Trump trying and failing to muscle his way in on shit where he’s either ill-suited or unwelcome. If and when he’s impeached, will the NFL continue this policy?

We can only hope Mueller is laying groundwork to intercede and save us from this egomaniac bent on asserting his renowned incompetence on the entire country. 😡

Writer’s note: great thanks and a big h/t to Mary Jane McKinney for additional insight and guidance on this story.

UPDATE 2: Senator Tammy Duckworth (D.-Ill.) issues a tweet in support of player protests, and it’s of course awesome.

One day, our nation’s flag will drape my coffin, just as it did my Dad’s and will my husband’s and brother’s. I will always stand on these legs for the flag and anthem, but it was ALSO my honor to defend people’s right to free speech… pic.twitter.com/oYVARtH8o6

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Why so cranky?

I strive to be a distiller of life, a curator of cures, a dealer of dope stuff. And I attempt to cure my crankies by snarking my way through all the week’s news. CY publishes at 2 p.m. on Thursdays. [ Tell Me More ]